In asking why [nobody notices the lethality of the 1918 flu], Crosby proposes a combination of factors that, he said, acting together accounted for the world’s collective amnesia. For one, he argues, the epidemic simply was so dreadful and so rolled up in people’s minds with the horrors of the war that most people did not want to think about it or write about it once the terrible year of 1918 was over. The flu blended into the general nightmare of World War I, an unprecedented event that introduced trench warfare, submarines, the bloody battles of the Somme and Verdun, and the horrors of chemical warfare.Moreover, the epidemic had no obvious dramatic effect. It did not kill a world leader. It did not usher in a long period in which death from influenza was a new and constant threat. It did not leave behind legions of crippled and maimed or disfigured survivors who would serve as haunting reminders of the disease.His latest hypothesis, he said in an interview in August 1998, is that in the fifty years preceding the 1918 flu, the world had been through one of the most profound revolutions ever to change the course of history: the germ theory of disease. “Every eighteen months, a new pathogen was identified, and it went on for years,” Crosby noted. Each discovery drove home the message that science was conquering disease. As the drumbeat of infectious agents continued, people “heaved a great sigh of relief. At last infectious disease was not important anymore,” Crosby concludes.Then came the flu epidemic, which made a mockery of the newfound optimism. And when it ended, Crosby posits, perhaps the most comforting reaction was to forget about it, to push it to the back of humanity’s collective consciousness as quickly as possible. To “see no evil, hear no evil.”
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Made a mockery of the newfound optimism
Arbitrary, inept, and unwilling to meet their most basic obligations
Each of these issues – massive illegal immigration, biased law enforcement, the erosion of property rights, and “Get Trump” lawfare – is important in its own right. Together, they are even more important. Taken together, they reinforce Americans’ sense of unease, social division, and betrayal by a justice system tilted against political enemies. They are frustrated by governments at all levels that seem arbitrary, inept, and unwilling to meet their most basic obligations.
My fear is it did exactly that.
Impostor syndrome isn’t always a voice of unwarranted self-doubt that you should stifle. Sometimes, it is the voice of God telling you to stand down. If, for example, you are an academic with a track record of citation lapses, you might not be the right person to lead a famous university through a critical time. If you are a moral jellyfish whose life is founded on the “go along to get along” principle and who recognizes only the power of the almighty donor, you might not be the right person to serve on the board of an embattled college when the future of civilization is on the line. And if you are someone who believes that “misgenderment” is a serious offense that demands heavy punishment while calls for the murder of Jews fall into a gray zone, you will likely lead a happier and more useful life if you avoid the public sphere.The spectacle of the presidents of three important American universities reduced to helpless gibbering in a 2023 congressional hearing may have passed from the news cycle, but it will resonate in American politics and culture for a long time. Admittedly, examination by a grandstanding member of Congress seeking to score political points at your expense is not the most favorable forum for self-expression. Even so, discussing the core mission of their institutions before a national audience is an event that ought to have brought out whatever mental clarity, moral earnestness, and rhetorical skills that three leaders of major American institutions had. My fear is it did exactly that.[snip]Sitting atop these troubled institutions, we have too many “leaders” of extraordinary mediocrity and conventional thinking, like the three hapless presidents blinking and stammering in the glare of the television lights. Assaulted by the angry, noisy proponents of an absurdist worldview, and under pressure from misguided diktats emanating from a woke, activist-staffed Washington bureaucracy, administrators and trustees have generally preferred the path of appeasement. Those who best flourish in administrations of this kind are careerist mediocrities who specialize in uttering the approved platitudes of the moment and checking the appropriate identity boxes on job questionnaires. Leaders recruited from these ranks will rarely shine when crisis strikes.
History
a 3rd century AD floor mosaic found in turkey depicting a reclining skeleton with a motto that translates roughly to "be cheerful, enjoy life" pic.twitter.com/2duSRJunRf
— weird medieval guys BOOK OUT NOW !! (@WeirdMedieval) February 12, 2024
An Insight
Someday it will seem funny that much of the world believed scientists could measure the temperature of the planet to within a tenth of a degree and also predict it over the next 75 years.
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) February 13, 2024
No one with real-world experience should be believing stuff like that.
I don't know if the…
I see wonderful things
These incredible salt formations can be seen in the south, southwest, and central areas of Iran. The best examples are found in the Zagros mountains that run parallel to Iran’s coast on the Persian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/oovSmJaeAu
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) February 13, 2024
Offbeat Humor
Can you spot the bear hiding in this photograph? Look closely. pic.twitter.com/VdJhJGhJpx
— Thinkwert (@Thinkwert) February 9, 2024
Data Talks
Boys play with trucks and girls play with dolls.
— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) February 12, 2024
When researchers assess kids' toy preferences, that's the dichotomy they use. Really!
Across many articles, the most "boy-related" toys are thought to be vehicles and the most "girl-related" ones, dolls.
A🧵 pic.twitter.com/lyOlKZfjal
Data Talks
Large demographic shift in American TV series staff.
— Inquisitive Bird (@Scientific_Bird) February 19, 2024
According to Writers Guild of America West data, between 2011 and 2020, staff writers moved from 35% to 63% women, and 72% to 44% white. pic.twitter.com/FU2HuB00CW